Product Strategy Step One - Servitizing is Fine, But Have We Overlooked Something?

"What is our business is not determined by the producer but the consumer. It is not defined by the company's name, statutes, or articles of incorporation but by the want the customer satisfies when he buys a product or service. The question can therefore only be answered by looking at the business from the outside, from the point of view of the customer."
--- Peter F. Drucker

Look at Drucker's statement carefully. He says products, but he also mentions services. Now, in today's hyper-competitive restless environment, let's take a deep breath and analyze a couple of businesses in silicon valley...one kind of nascent, and the other, an American icon. Facebook, and Apple. Now what to they have in common?

The short answer: platforms.

Now what are platforms? They are more than just products, or even product lines, if you ask us. Frequently people use the BMW 5 series as an example, and say that it is a platform which creates the BMW 525, the BMW 528, etc. However, BMW 5 series is nothing but a product line.